Which of the following is a wind deposited landforms? Loess is a type of sedimentary deposit formed from wind-blown dust.

Answer Details

Loess is a wind-deposited landform. It consists of fine-grained, yellowish-brown sediment (mainly silt) that has been picked up by wind from desert surfaces, dried-up riverbeds, or glacial outwash plains and deposited over wide areas, sometimes hundreds of kilometres from its source. Loess deposits can accumulate to considerable thicknesses and form fertile soils, as seen in the Loess Plateau of China and parts of central Europe and the American Midwest.

The process that creates loess is aeolian (wind) deposition: wind carries fine particles in suspension over long distances and gradually deposits them when wind speed decreases.

The other options are all landforms produced by wind erosion, not deposition:

• A yardang is an elongated, streamlined rock ridge sculpted by wind abrasion in desert environments.
• A rock pedestal (mushroom rock) is formed when wind-blown sand erodes the base of a rock more than the top, creating a top-heavy pillar shape.
• A deflation hollow is a depression formed when wind removes loose, fine-grained material from the surface, lowering the ground level.